Fuel

With fuel prices at a record and the economy teetering at the brink of a recession that could cut into carrier revenue, some truckload carriers are pushing harder for savings by using lighter trailers, limiting idling to save fuel and shortening trade-in cycles.

The British Columbia government is planning to impose a carbon tax on fossil fuels beginning on July 1, the most comprehensive tax of its kind in North America.

The average retail price of diesel fuel jumped 15.6 cents a gallon to a new record of $3.552 last week, more than 10 cents above the previous record, which was set Nov. 26.

As if a slowing economy, depressed housing and auto markets and sharply rising consumer prices aren’t bad enough news for trucking, fuel prices are skyrocketing again.

After spending more than 32 years in this industry, nothing really surprises me anymore. However, with regards to all the political groups who seem to know more about our industry than we do, their members are probably the first to complain when the new stove, washer-dryer, etc., isn’t delivered on time.

Crude oil rose to more than $102 barrel in early trading Wednesday, the first time it has topped that level, Bloomberg reported.

Citations issued by the California Air Resources Board for engine emission control labels that are missing or have been tampered with now carry penalties of as much as $800, the agency said.

Long Beach officials last week put finishing touches on a sweeping, unprecedented set of rules aimed at dramatically cutting emissions from the 17,000 drayage trucks working at the huge California container port, rejecting the plan’s most controversial feature that would have forced independent owner-operators to work for larger carriers.